Neologisms in Indian Social Media

A neologism is a newly coined word or expression which has emerged into common usage overtime. In this process some neologisms are assimilated into the mainstream language, and some do not gain wider acceptance. Some examples of neologisms in English are:

A completely new word (e.g. blutter: to give a long, rambling speech about uncertainty)

A new combination of existing words (e.g. digital detox)

A new meaning for an existing word (e.g. mouse : a computer mouse )

In yesteryears, literary writings, newspapers, TV and films, used to be the primary sources of neologisms in languages. But with the arrival of social media, a large number of neologisms is being created and used over world wide web by the people. In this short piece, I will discuss some contemporary neologisms related to socio-politics in languages like Hindi-Urdu, English & Malayalam. To our surprise most of these neologisms are hateful or distasteful terms stereotyping people and communities. But nevertheless people (trolls or not) on the Indian social media are voraciously using them in their discourse. Here are some popular Indian neologisms from social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.):

Amittadi (അമിട്ടടി) = a reference to BJP president Amit Shah in Malayalam {state language of Kerala, India} (coined from Amittadi = fireworks, as someone who chickens out on commitments or runs away in the middle of something.

Love Jihad (लव जिहाद) = Love + Jihad (Arabic ‘ a struggle or fight against the enemies of Islam’). The compound word means when one causes the other to convert to Islam through a false hope of love and marriage. Widely used to describe the process in which Muslim men pretend to be in love with non-Muslim women with an intention of converting them.

Mr. Tadipaar (मिस्टर तड़ीपार) = a reference to current BJP president Amit Shah (coined from Hindi word tadipaar { तड़ीपार } an externed person i.e. a person banished from a region or an area by court of law.)

Pappu (पप्पू) = a nickname of Indian political leader Rahul Gandhi of Indian National congress ( Pappu is a common nickname used for children in Hindi and has the connotation of a ‘naive and an inept male’)

Presstitute (प्रेस्टिट्यूट) = A term coined by Gerald Celente and often used by independent journalists and writers in the alternative media in reference to journalists and talking heads in the mainstream media who give biased and predetermined views in favor of the government and corporations, thus neglecting their fundamental duty of reporting news impartially. It is a portmanteau of press + prostitute.

Sickular (सिकुलर) = a portmanteau of Sick + Secular = Sickular. It refers to a particular kind of Indian liberal who spouts secularism, but is really resorting to tokenism.

Tukde Tukde Gang (टुकड़े – टुकड़े गैंग) = a reference to protesting students from Jawaharlal Nehru university , New Delhi and their supporters in the country demanding a referendum on Kashmir (coined from the slogan ‘bharat tere tukde honge’ = India you will break into pieces) [synonymous with Aazaadi Gang {आज़ादी गैंग} ]

Urban Maoist (अरबन माओइस्ट) = a Maoist living in urban areas (as against to the notion that Maoism is primarily based on the peasantry as the vehicle of revolution.)

Yogi nahin Bhogi (योगी नहीं भोगी) = a reference to the current chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath (this phrase translates as ‘Not a Yogi { ascetic } but a Bhogi {a materialist})Do you have a suggestion? Please write!